If I'm Gonna Be Sorry
by love-always-has-a-price
Summary: Her question got to him. Why was he apologizing? He had done nothing wrong, nor had he done anything worthy of an apology. Yet he felt the guilt and the need to say the words, "I'm sorry." He had to stop and stare at her; if he was going to be sorry, he should have done something that actually deserved an apology.


**I am so sorry about that last post of this! I have no idea what even happened, I read the reviews and was confused at first. Again, I apologize for the mishap.**

It has been a while since I've posted any Fairy Tail stories, so due to a sudden idea and music video, this happened.

This is my second Galu one shot. So please review and tell me how it is! Thank you!

Quick note: They are bit OOC.

XxxxX

He knew how he felt for her. He knew how deeply he cared. It wasn't that cliché love at first sight thing, not even close. Because quite frankly, when he first saw her, she looked like nothing more but some rich blonde girl who had a very desirable body.

The second time he saw her, he had been brutally beating her. He had kicked her, punched her, trying to make her scream and beg for mercy, but she didn't. And there he felt a slight jab at those strings (more like chains) on his heart.

The third time was when he had ended up joining the guild. There he had sung and she danced in a bunny outfit (a very appealing one at that). Hence forth his nickname for her, 'bunny girl'.

She had caught his eye plenty of times once he had joined the guild, which was something new to him. Usually he never kept his eyes on one girl for longer than a day or so, but once she pasted the week mark, he knew he was in some deep trouble.

He found himself paying more attention to her, and noticing how her magic was growing stronger. He also found himself growing slightly jealous when any guy got too friendly with her, yet another sign that made his mind turn away.

But over time he saw it coming, eventually he would have to face the truth.

And he did.

So again, he did know how much he felt towards her. He was well aware of how intensely he cared for her. And did it hurt when he heard the joyful news?

Yes, it did. A great deal at that.

Turns out that the fireball did care just as much for the celestial mage, and he had made a confession. He already had a feeling that she would accept and return his feelings, which she did.

But it hit him harder than he ever thought. Worse than any blow to the stomach or any blast to the back.

He learned to cope with that; he had covered it up by hanging out with Levy, trying to convince himself to feel what everyone else thought. Even the blonde whom he adored a great deal had believed he cared for her best friend. She had confronted him one day; she threatened him that if he broke the bluette's heart, that he would be a whole world of pain.

It surprised him on how well he was able to cope with all of it. He felt sorry though. Not for himself, no, there was no self-pity, but he felt sorry for some reason.

Then he found out the fireball decided to marry her. Now that was like he got socked in the face, and then kicked in the gut, followed by a blast of everything someone had.

It was sheer pain, sweet pain that crawled into him and squeezed, never letting go. He could not deny this anymore; finally he went out on a rampage. He vented all his anger out by tearing, shredding, and destroying parts of the forest he lived in. It took Lily hours to finally calm him down, but even then he knew a part of him was still unstable.

He only smiled and cheered when they broke the news to everyone, he acted as if he didn't care too much, yet it hurt like a fucker.

He saw her smile, only to wish he caused her happiness.

He saw her laugh, only to wish he made her laugh.

He saw her being held by him, only to wish he was one who held her.

It only tore him down inside. It broke him a part. He fought constantly with himself, he told himself he didn't care for her in that way, that he was happy she was being married to the fireball, that it didn't hurt, that…..

But deep down he knew.

XxxxX

A week before the wedding, he still sat in his dark corner munching on some metal scraps. He heard the fireball and the ice cube fighting, while the Amazon was preoccupied with other things to stop the two. Then the sweet scent he loved had filled his nose, causing him to glance up at the open guild doors.

A pleasant smile formed on her face while she walked over towards the fireball and ice cube. The fireball quickly pulled away from his fighting to hug the girl and then place a quick kiss on her lips.

How he wish it were he who was able to kiss her ever so softly, roughly, full of passion.

He looked away, continued to grub on his metal, trying his hardest not to look at her. He heard her sweet laughter fill his ears; it made him clench his hands into fists. Then he heard footsteps approach him, along with the scent of firewood, ashes, and dirt mixed with spice, and the scent of vanilla with strawberries mixed with cherry blossoms and honeysuckle.

"Oi! Gajeel!" The fireball's voice called.

He glanced up to see Natsu with his arm resting on her hip. "What do you want flame head?"

Natsu felt his face form a bright grin and then he muttered, "I need to ask you a favor."

"Tch, what?" Gajeel mumbled lowly while crossing his arms across his chest. He focused only on the dragon slayer and not the girl next to him.

"Listen, I need to go out today, and it is a long trip. I won't be able to come back till really late, so will you watch Luce for me?" he gestured his girl with a smile.

She glanced up at her fiancé and sighed, "I can watch myself Natsu."

"But you know that there is some trying to get you!" he had stated. "And since I won't be there, someone needs to look out for you, no offence Luce, but you seem to attract trouble."

Lucy pouted while a light red dusted her cheeks. She looked away and mumbled, "Fine, fine."

Gajeel slightly amused at the couples interactions, but mostly focused on Lucy. He then grunted, "Why not as the ice cube or the Amazon?"

"While…." Natsu scratched the back on his head with his free hand. "Gray is heading off on a solo mission and Erza has already something else planned." He then gave Gajeel a pleading look, "Please Gajeel! I trust you, besides I know that you won't let her get hurt, you are a dragon slayer."

Gajeel looked at both of them. One day with the woman whom he cared deeply for. It was not a good choice, but if there was someone after the blonde he wouldn't just leave her out as bait. Letting out a small sigh, he nodded, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on her for ya."

Natsu gave his signature grin and then pecked his fiancé, "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

XxxxX

Lucy was sitting down under a tree reading a book. Beside her was a semi-bored Gajeel. "You really don't have to watch me," Lucy muttered while turning to the next page. "I understand that Natsu and you have grown closer as friends and that you and I are better friends now, but you really don't have to take care of me while Natsu is gone. He is just being paranoid because I was being stalked for a bit, but it stopped a few days ago." Her eyes never leaving her book.

"I promised him I would watch you, I'm not going back on my promise Bunny girl." Gajeel responded as he turned his attention to Lucy. "A dragon's word."

Lucy glanced up to meet his blood red eyes; she saw how serious he was. She felt it was no use to really argue the matter, he would just stay anyways. She sighed and turned her gaze back to her book, "I have a name, you know."

Gajeel ruffled her blonde locks, "Yea, but Bunny girl suits ya better."

Lucy closed her book and glared at the iron dragon slayer. She fought off his hand from her hair, "Stop that! You know how much I don't like you calling me that!" Her cheeks puffed up in frustration.

Gajeel grinned evilly before messing with her hair once again. He couldn't help but think she looked cute at the moment. She turned away and warned, "Don't make me call Loke on you!"

He let out a chuckle, "You know that you can't beat me with your spirits."

Lucy whipped her head around and narrowed her brown orbs. She then stuck her tongue out and muttered, "Oh shut it! Just leave, will ya? You don't even wanna be here anyways." A hint of sadness escaped her voice as she spoke the last sentence.

Lucy really cared about Gajeel. He was a good friend once she got to know him better. Which she did as soon as he was hanging out with Levy more and became friends with Natsu. Although they rarely hung out, they still became close. But due to his sudden acts of avoiding her as if she were a plague, she thought that she had done something that made him no longer like her as a friend.

When Natsu asked for Gajeel to watch Lucy, Lucy was a bit excited, but scared. She still didn't know why he was avoiding her, so of course she assumed he would say no. He did beat around the bush about a straightforward answer, but he eventually gave in to Natsu's pleas. Lucy felt as though Gajeel felt forced, as if he had to watch her. She felt as though he didn't want to be near her at all, which did make her sad. It made her heart ache, even if it were Gray who didn't want to be near her, she would feel just as hurt.

"What makes ya say that?"

She looked up to see a slight puzzled look that lied on his studded face. A genuine puzzled look.

Lucy eyes cast down to the ground, "Well you were practically forced by Natsu to watch me."

"Doesn't mean I don't want to spend some time with you," Gajeel said roughly. He forced it to come out rough; he didn't want to hint his true feelings towards her.

Lucy glanced up in shock. "Well you have been avoiding me lately."

"I haven't." Gajeel stated in his defense.

She gave him a look that said 'are-you-kidding-me'. "That is such a lie. You have been avoiding me for a long time now!" She poked his chest as she spoke. "Don't lie to me Gajeel! I'm no idiot."

She then looked away and let out a sad sigh. "What did I do wrong?"

He should have known that she would notice his absence around her. He should have known that. He looked at the sadness that fell upon her face. Her bottom lip trembling a little, her eyes filled with sorrow, her shoulders hung down in defeat. He felt guilt swell up inside of him.

Why did he have to care so much for her? This was out of his character. Way out of his rough, cocky, character. But as they say love makes you act differently.

He finally decided to speak after a long silence that fell upon them. "I-"

"Let's just go. Forget I even said a thing." Lucy stated in a monotone voice. She stood while picking her book up as well. She started to walk off; a painful silence fell upon them once again.

Gajeel slowly stood up to follow the blonde.

XxxxX

"I should be fine now. I'm home now, it should be ok." Lucy stated as she stood in her doorway facing Gajeel.

"You sure?" Gajeel asked. "It is already getting late."

Lucy nodded, "Don't become as paranoid as Natsu." She let a small laugh escape her lips before staring back at Gajeel, "See at the guild tomorrow."

She then shut the door. Gajeel took that as a sign to leave. As he walked away from her home (more like Natsu's and hers, she moved in with him), the crunching of the fallen leaves filled the air.

He now official created an even bigger awkwardness between them. He swung his fist at a tree, which did shatter it, causing chucks of wood to spew out. He didn't care for the blood that trickled down his now cut knuckles, his anger just rose, he felt like a fucking idiot. His rage grew as the thought of his bunny being another man's woman.

Pain shot through his body, he hated himself for not walking away from her when he had the chance. He recalled her naval battle with Minerva. Oh, how he wanted to beat that woman's head in for torturing Bunny girl like that.

Self-pity was building up inside him. He wanted to go on a rampage right now, he wanted to tear down even tree in the area right at this moment, he wanted to-

A scream disturbed his thoughts.

His eyes grew wide; he spun around towards the house he just left. Another scream was heard except this time it called his name. Then the echoing sound of a slap it was followed by a whimper.

His self-pity subdued, along with his anger that was directed towards himself. It was replaced with anger that was directed whoever decided to hurt his Bunny girl.

He ran as fast as he could to her home. He swung the door open and straight towards the bedroom. There was shattered glass, a broken vase, papers scattered everywhere, and finally his eyes landed on the bed. There a blonde girl whose mouth was covered with tape, her hands tied above her head, tears streaming down her face, her shirt torn to reveal her bra. A man sat on top of her, he finished licking the side of her face before tossing her keys out the shattered window.

He leaned down to lick her once again, but before he could, Gajeel nailed a punch on his face. He was sent flying to the wall. Gajeel took a quick look at Lucy who still had tears cascading down her face, she stared at Gajeel. Her eyes showed fear; he could barely make that out due to the moonlight that was only shining.

He turned and blocked a punch that the bastard threw at him. Gajeel avoided a kick that was swung at his head. Gajeel then delivered a kick to his side. The bastard gripped onto Gajeel's hair and was able to pull him out the window with him.

The two quickly got on their feet and brawled it out. Gajeel finally had enough of this, he sucked in a deep breath before screaming, "Tetsuryū no Hōkō!" The perv was sent flying into several trees.

Gajeel looked around and grabbed her keys, then jumped through the broken window to see Lucy curled up in the bed shaking and trembling in fear. Gajeel slowly approached the shaken up girl. He untied the binds from her wrists and tore the tape away from her mouth.

She tackled him into a hug and sobbed into his chest. "I-I was s-so sc-scared! Thank-thank you..." Her hot tears spilled onto him as he brought his arms around her small figure. He ran his fingers through her soft hair, his other arm held her back closer to him.

They remained there for a long moment. Lucy turned her head to the side and muttered, "I'm sorry."

"What for? You did nothing wrong." Gajeel growled lowly as he thought about what had just happened to her.

Lucy only held onto him tighter. More tears spilled from her brown orbs. "I'm just sorry."

Gajeel continued to pet her hair. He didn't want to let her go. He wanted to hold her for as long as he could, he wanted to dry her tears.

Lucy slowly retracted from him. Her eyes puffing and red, her face flushed; she tugged on her shirt to cover her cleavage. Gajeel quickly looked away, a small tint of red lied on his face. "I'll leave you-"

Lucy quickly gripped onto his shoulder, "No!" Gajeel turned to face her. Her eyes were pleading him to stay, "Don't go, please stay...I-I don't want to be alone." Her cheeks grew warmer.

Gajeel nodded, "I'll just wait outside the door. I highly doubt you want to walk around the house like this." He gestured towards her attire while his face started to burn as he did so.

Lucy's face became a dark shade of red. She looked away and mumbled, "Ok..."

Gajeel got up and retreated from the bedroom. He shut the door, then leaned against it. What was he to do now?

XxxxX

Lucy placed some metal scraps in front of him. She wore a new blouse along with some new shorts. She sat across from him while twirling her hair and looking away. Earlier she had tended to whatever wounds he may have had. So there was a bandage wrapped around the hand he had punched a tree with, but she assumed he had gotten it from fighting the creeper who had entered her home.

Gajeel took a bite of a piece of metal before saying something. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, "You don't have to do that!" She waved her hands in front of her while shaking her head.

"I'm making a promise Lucy, a dragon never goes back on his word. I'm gonna keep it no matter what." Gajeel stated in a serious tone. He locked eyes with her making sure she saw his honesty.

Lucy felt her cheeks burning. She had to look away and mumbled, "Thank you." Then she looked back and smiled kindly, "You said my name."

Gajeel looked away while grumbling something lowly. He took a bite of metal before growling something Lucy couldn't make out. Lucy giggled lightly and mumbled, "How cute, you're embarrassed."

Gajeel glanced over at her; he was happy to see her smiling. She then asked with playful smirk, "So have you and Levy been hitting it off yet?"

Gajeel choked on his metal and coughed, "What?!"

An innocent look fell over her face, "Aren't you and Levy together yet?"

"No, I don't see her in that way." He scoffed.

"Really?! I thought you did. You are always with her and laughing with her and stuff." Lucy looked down as if she was thinking. Which she was.

"The Shrimp and I aren't like that. Besides she seems to have a thing for that Jet guy." Gajeel leaned back in his seat while folding his arms across his chest. He popped a metal chip into his mouth.

Lucy seemed to be taking in what he said and started contemplating what he said. She started to weigh things in her head. "So...then...who exactly do you like?" She stared at him with big, curious eyes.

Gajeel almost choked. He gulped as he looked at the girl in front of him. "Why do ya wanna know?"

Lucy leaned back in her seat and shrugged, "Well Natsu said that you like some girl. He told me about how you kept rambling about her while you were drunk, but you never said her name or gave a legitimate description." She then smiled, "I guess I just grew curious on what type of girl could catch the eye of my iron eating friend."

Gajeel didn't know what to do; he ran a hand through his hair. He sighed while looking away from her. He couldn't just confess his feelings to her, could he?

"Well she is someone I hurt a while back. Back when I was in Phantom." Gajeel muttered barely loud enough for her to hear.

Lucy nodded, "Continue." She leaned closer towards him, eager to know who captured the Iron Dragon Slayer's heart.

"She is very attractive. Drop dead gorgeous actually." He chuckled as he saw Lucy smile in response. He gained a bit more confidence before continuing, "She is really strong. Both physically and emotionally. She is a mage."

Lucy's eyes lit up. "Is she a part of the guild?!"

Gajeel nodded in response. Lucy then made a mental list of girls in the guild, then said, "Continue, please."

Gajeel let out a loud laugh before speaking again. "I have given her a nickname." Lucy crossed out some of the girls who he hadn't given any nicknames to. "She was a part of the GMG." Lucy crossed out a few girls again. "We are friends, but sometimes I feel as though we're strangers."

Lucy dropped her mental list to look at the distraught look on his face. She realized how much he had actually revealed to her. He had literally opened himself up about how he felt towards the girl who managed to catch his heart. He must have really trusted her to talk to her about it. This made her smile warmly and lean over and hug the dragon slayer.

"Thanks for trusting me."

Gajeel froze in place. He had just indirectly confessed his feelings towards the celestial mage. And she just decided to hug him. And thank him for trusting her.

Gajeel waited for her to pull away before he stood up. "I should get going, Salamander should be back soon." He started for the door.

He could no longer do this right now. If he kept this up, teasing himself, he would lose all his self-restraint and probably do something he would regret. She was not his. She wasn't. She was someone else's and he had to respect that. He had to turn his cheek away and act as though it did not hurt.

"Wait!" He heard her footsteps reaching him. He opened the door just as she mumbled, "Can't you stay until he comes? He'll probably ask you about what happened."

If only she realized how badly this hurt him. How much pain was being bottled up inside.

Gajeel shook his head, "I really should get going." He walked out the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder that tugged him backwards.

"What's wrong Gajeel?" Her voice soft and full of concern.

Gajeel spun around to face her. He stared into her eyes. Blood red met chocolate brown. That feeling brewed up inside him once again, he felt sorry. Sorry for no real reason, but the fact he cared this deeply for her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I feel like this. I'm sorry that I can't keep teasing myself. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you because I can't get my shit in check. I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry mostly because I cannot stop feeling this way. That I care this deeply..." He then whispered so softly that she heard nothing, "...towards you."

Lucy gave a confused look. Her eyes trying to search for some kind of answer, something to give her a hint as to what he was apologizing to. But she couldn't find anything.

"Why are you apologizing?"

He looked away and then turned. He started to walk off. He was already about five feet away when he suddenly stopped. He turned around and stared at the still confused Lucy.

Her question got to him. Why was he apologizing? He had done nothing wrong, nor had he done anything worthy of an apology. Yet he felt the guilt and the need to say the words, "I'm sorry." He had to stop and stare at her; if he was going to be sorry, he should have done something that actually deserved an apology.

"You know what? If I'm gonna be sorry, I should have done some worth saying sorry to." He quickly made his way back towards her, "I mean just cause I feel like this doesn't mean I should be sorry, it's not like I've done something sorry worthy, right?"

"I-I don't know..." Lucy stuttered.

He finally made his way back to her and stood in front of her. He towered over her and his eyes showed lust, passion, and love? He leaned closer towards her and mumbled, "If I'm gonna be sorry, I'm gonna do something worthy of an apology."

Then before Lucy could even say a word, his lips crashed onto hers. She froze up and her muscles tensed. He lifted her chin up with one hand and pushed her body closer with the other. He gently nibbled on her bottom lips causing her to moan. He quickly slid his tongue in her mouth to explore her mouth.

He put forth all the passion, all the lust, all the desire, all the wanting, all the needing, all the craving, into this kiss. He could not bring himself to tell her of his love, but he would show her his love. The feelings he had forced down. He locked away for only himself to explore. Not even Pantherlily knew of his dark secret. One that he had intended on taking to the grave with him, but damn his dragon instincts. Telling him to try and fight for what he wishes to claim as his and no one else's.

Once they parted, he stared at her, lust and raw passion still lied in his eyes, her eyes blank and wide in shock. His hands dropped and he whispered, "I'm sorry."

And again, before she could make a comment, he was long gone.

His feet pounding away at the earth trying to gain ground away from the one he cared so deeply for. His arms pumping away while his blood pounded in his ears like drums. He forced himself to go back and explain himself or even glance at her as he disappeared into the night. He only ran, never to express those feelings again.

XxxxX

Lucy stood there shocked as ever. Then she felt wetness travel down her face on both sides. Lifting her hand to touch her cheek, she came across a hot tear. She glanced at her fingertips that touched the salty tear. Enveloping her hands to hide her face, she let the tears pour from her brown orbs.

"Why are you sorry?" She choked out in a small, barely audible whimper. But she knew that not even a dragon slayer could hear it.

OoooO

Hahahaha slight cliffhanger, no? Well there you go. My first Galu one shot! So happy I got it out of the way! Yippie!

Alright so...I realized they were a bit more OOC than expected...sorry.

There is a possibility that I might do a sequel, but ehh...who knows. Please tell me what ya thing of it. Thank you for your time.


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